How Should Canada Manage Growing Tailings Ponds at Oil Sands Mines?

Official title: Path forward for evaluating policy options for managing the accumulation of oil sands mine water in tailings ponds

Closed Policy & Studies Environment & Climate Indigenous & Northern Natural Resources
Oil sands mines in Alberta store billions of litres of contaminated water in tailings ponds. These ponds keep growing, and there's no approved plan for what to do with them. The government is asking how to regulate this water—should it be treated and released? Stored forever? Something else?

Why This Matters

Tailings ponds already cover an area larger than Vancouver. They sit near the Athabasca River, which flows north to communities that depend on it for drinking water and fishing. Indigenous communities downstream have raised health concerns for years. If these ponds leak or overflow, the consequences could be irreversible.

What Could Change

New regulations under the Fisheries Act could set limits on what can be released from tailings ponds. Companies might be required to treat water before releasing it, or to find ways to reduce pond volumes. This could add billions in costs to oil sands operations—or finally address a decades-old environmental liability.

Key Issues

  • Should treated tailings water be allowed to be released into rivers?
  • What standards should apply to any water released from tailings ponds?
  • How should Indigenous communities be involved in decisions about tailings management?

How to Participate

  1. Read the Discussion Paper on the Path forward for evaluating policy options for managing the accumulation of oil sands mine water in tailings ponds to understand the proposed options.
  2. Submit your written comments by email to sb-os@ec.gc.ca by the deadline.

Key Documents